Copyright by Russell L. Lackey 2019 Abstract What would a conversation between John of Patmos and Jordan of Portland look like? To say it another way, how might Christ’s apocalyptic address to the seven churches of Revelation (Rev 2-3) aid in the faith formation of today’s emerging adults whose worldview has been described as Moralistic Therapeutic Deism? This thesis utilizes biblical and practical theology to address three issues facing emerging adults: the replacement of a love ethic with a tolerance narrative that aids market globalization but harms emerging adults; the problem of mass consumerism; and the coddling of young people with the aim of safety over against a life filled with a willingness to suffer for lasting joy. The thesis concludes with a whimsical conversation between John and Jordan that demonstrates what a mentoring relationship might look like between two people in different stages of their faith development. iv To Jamie, Abigail, Sydney, and Brenna; the members of Luther Memorial Church; and the emerging adults I am blessed to work with. v Table of Contents List of Abbreviations ............................................................................................. vii Acknowledgements ................................................................................................ viii Introduction ............................................................................................................ 1 Chapter 1: Love Is Greater Than Tolerance ........................................................... 12 Christ Addresses Ephesus (Revelation 2:1-7) ........................................... 13 Christ Addresses Emerging Adults ............................................................ 20 Christ Addresses Thyatira (Revelation 2:18-29) ........................................ 27 Christ Addresses Emerging Adults ............................................................ 34 Chapter 2: Wealth Is Dangerous ............................................................................ 40 Christ Addresses Sardis (Revelation 3:1-6) ............................................... 43 Christ Addresses Laodicea (Revelation 3:14-22) ...................................... 51 Christ Addresses Emerging Adults ............................................................ 59 Chapter 3: You Will Suffer .................................................................................... 67 Christ Addresses Pergamum (Revelation 2:12-17) .................................... 69 Christ Addresses Smyrna (Revelation 2:8-11) ........................................... 76 Christ Addresses Philadelphia (Revelation 3:7-13) .................................... 83 Christ Addresses Emerging Adults ............................................................. 89 Conclusion .............................................................................................................. 97 Bibliography ........................................................................................................... 109 Biography …………………………………………………………………........... 118 vi List of Abbreviations ANF Ante-Nicene Fathers CSEL Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum DRC Democratic Republic of Congo FTE Forum of Theological Exploration HSYTI High School Youth Theological Institute MTD Moralistic Therapeutic Deism NEXUS NEXUS Community of Young Christian Leaders NRSV New Revised Standard Version NSYR National Study of Youth and Religion vii Acknowledgments I am thankful for the many people who accompanied me throughout this project. Special thanks to Craig Koester for helping me chart a course for this thesis as well as to Ross Wagner and Fred Edie for being the first and second readers on it. Heartfelt gratitude to the members of Luther Memorial Church for their generous support throughout the D. Min. program. I owe much to the wonderful people at the Lilly Endowment and FTE whose work with the High School Youth Theological Institutes inspired me to learn more about emerging adults. To my wife, Jamie, and daughters: Abigail, Sydney, and Brenna whose sacrifice allowed me to complete this program. Finally, to my friends Shane Comellas, Kate Faas, Craig Giera, Carole Henning, Ken Sundet Jones, Mark Mattes, along with Sarah Musser whose contributions and encouragement were so extensive that my thesis would not have been completed without them. Russell L. Lackey Grand View University, Des Moines Antipas of Pergamum Feast Day, 2019 viii Introduction Can the Lamb roar? A lamb is soft and cuddly. Its bleat is more annoying than mighty. A lion, in contrast, is strong and has a ferocious roar. A lion is not a lamb, and a lamb is definitely not a lion. However, in John’s vision in Revelation, Christ is both the Lion of Judah and the Lamb who was slain. As the Lion of Judah, Christ fulfills the prophets’ declaration to Israel that God would send them a powerful ruler. As the slain lamb, Jesus pours out his mercy on the cross for the salvation of the world. One might expect the Lion to be the stronger of the two images, but it is the slain lamb who is mightier. As Christ, the Lamb roars! This thesis attempts to bring two vastly different worlds together: the world of first century Asia Minor and the world of today’s emerging adults, that is, 18-to 29-year- olds.1 More specifically, it aims to see how Christ’s address to the seven churches of Asia Minor (Rev 2-3) can positively affect the faith development of this demographic. Or, to state it another way, this project attempts to facilitate a conversation between “John of Patmos” and “Jordan of Portland” with the hope of renewal and reformation for today’s emerging adults and their faith communities. 1 Jeffery J. Arnett, “Emerging Adulthood: A Theory of Development From the Late Teens Through the Twenties.” The American Psychologist 55, no. 5 (2000), 469-480. In 2000, Jeffrey Arnett presented a theory of emerging adulthood in which he argued that young people were taking longer to grow up than previous generations, as measured by their entry into stable adult roles as well as their own self-perception of not-fully-adult status. As a result, a new term needed to be created. In a later work, Arnett argues that the lengthening of emerging adulthood is the result of four revolutions within society: the Technology Revolution, the Sexual Revolution, the Women’s Movement, and the Youth Movement. Important to this thesis is the opportunity a delayed adulthood has for the church because emerging adults have extended time to explore matters of faith. Jeffery J. Arnett, Emerging Adulthood: The Winding Road from the Late Teens Through the Twenties (New York: Oxford University Press, 2015), 2-8. 1 Comparing the worlds of John and Jordan is like comparing a wooden bridge that connects two sides of a river to the Channel Tunnel that links England to France. Both bridges assist in transportation. But they are vastly different. In the same way, the worlds John and Jordan inhabit differ greatly. John’s world was dominated by the Roman Empire and its imperial cult. Residents in the lands occupied by Rome were subjects to the empire’s rule and vision of life. People were not free in this system. Indeed, many were slaves and servants whose value consisted in maintaining imperial peace in order to facilitate political and economic stability.2 John Kraybill notes that the pressing issue for Revelation’s readers was “how Christians, who gave their highest loyalty to Jesus, should conduct themselves in a world where economic and political structures assume that everyone would worship the emperor.”3 To oppose Rome was to stand against a conquering system designed to control and pacify the masses. Rebellion brought swift retribution from the Roman sword. Jordan’s world is much more complex as technologically aided globalization allows for an interconnectivity in which information, goods, and services flow freely on a planetary scale. The disparity of wealth breeds deep tensions within such interconnectivity and interdependence, as does the spread of the rule of law and the rise of global criminal networks, the advancement of a common culture and the demise of local cultures, the creation of social networks and the loss of privacy, along with 2 Michael Mann, The Sources of Social Power; vol. 1, A History of Power from the Beginning to AD 1760 (Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1986), 250. Mann, writes that: “The interest of Rome lies in its imperialism… as Rome institutionalized the rule of its legions more stably and over a longer period of time than any other society before or since…. The empire of domination eventually became a true territorial empire, or at least had about as high a level and intensity of territorial control as could be attained within the logistical constraints imposed on all agrarian societies…. What Rome acquired, Rome kept.” 3 Nelson J. Kraybill. Apocalypse and Allegiance: Worship, Politics, and Devotion in the Book of Revelation (Grand Rapids, MI: Brazos Press, 2010), 15. 2 advances that can both enhance and destroy life.4 As a result, many American emerging adults have embraced a belief system that Christian Smith has named Moralistic Therapeutic Deism (MTD). As defined by Smith, MTD has five principles: • God exists, has ordered the world, and watches over human life on earth. • God wants people to be good, nice, and fair to each other, as taught in the Bible and by most world religions. • The central goal of life is to be happy and to feel good about oneself. • God does not need